Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to bring more meaning to its nearly 2 billion users by shepherding them into online groups that bring together people with common passions, problems and ambitions. (June 22)
AP

Zuckerberg showcased a family with a 2,500-acre ranch near Piedmont during his trip to visit an underground research lab in Lead. He talked with the Normans about South Dakota's ongoing drought and the threat it poses to the family's cattle numbers.

"One of the ranchers told me it's the worst drought he can remember -- and maybe the worst since the 1930s," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.

The Norman family has a herd of about 500 and may have to decrease it by up to 15 percent, because that's all their land can support.

The family shared other concerns with Zuckerberg, from regulations that limit the hours trucks can be on the road, trading prices and lack of harvesting plants.

The ranchers did share some optimism in how technology has made their machinery more stable and how they could possibly use drones in the future to monitor their herd.

"The Normans are proud of the work they do -- not just feeding the country, but helping provide things like insulin, leather and makeup ingredients that also come from cattle," Zuckerberg said in his post. "Thanks to the Normans for welcoming me into their home. Families like theirs don't always get a lot of credit, but we depend on the work they do."

Zuckerberg came to visit the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead to applaud work of scientists in the former gold mine and encourage others to pursue a career in scientific research. He even went live from one mile underground.